Steam pressing iron



April 28, 1925. r H A KOENIG STEAM PRESSING IRON Filed July 2a, 1923 mvsuron I #4273! ,4. Meat;

J l 4 52% m v 3 TORNEY .To all whom it may concern:

Patented UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY A. KOEN'IG, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

STEAM PRESSING- IRON.

Application filed July28, 1923. Serial No. 654,344.

Be it known that I, HARRY A. KOENIG, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam Pressing Irons, of which the following is a specification.

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide an improved pressing iron; to provide a pressing iron which functions entirely by the use of live steam or any other suitable heated vapor; to provide a steam pressing iron wherein the heated medium can be regulated and controlled during the pressing operation; to provide a pressing iron wherein live steam is'supplied and regulated quantities thereof discharged into contact with the material to be pressed; to provide an improved regulating valve structure for steam operated pressing irons; to rovide a steam pressing iron with means or-collecting and discharging water of condensation; and to provide 0t er improvements as will hereinafter appear. I

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation in part section of one form of steam pressing iron embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 represents a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 represents an enlarged sectional detail of one form of control valve for the iron.

Referring to the drawings, one form of the present invention comprises a body 10, having a removable.top 11, to which is secured in any well known manner a handle 12, by which the pressing iron can be manually operated in the ordinary manner of such devices. The body 10, as here shown, is provided with a chamber 13 extending lengthwise and transversely'of the body of the iron. This chamber 13 serves as a receiving chamber for live steam, which is admitted thereto by way of an inlet opening 14 and a fitting 15, to which a pipe or flexible tubing from the source of steam supply is connected. This opening 14 is preferably formed in the rear wall 16 of the body 10 but in close proximity to a side wall of the body, and horizontally considered is above the outlet 17, which leads from the opposite side of the chamber and through the rear wall 16, where a fitting 18 connects it to a point of discharge. In this connection, it should be noted that the chamber 13 is inclined with respect to the bottom surface 20 of the body, such inclination of the chamher being arranged by casting .or otherwise forming the floor 21 of the chamber to give the required angle. As here shown, the upper wall 22 of the receiving chamber 13 is inclined in a similar manner, and the purpose of so disposing the chamber is to cause water of condensation to be directed to the side of the body 10 upon which the outlet 17 is located. In other words, the inlet 14 and the outlet 17 are both located in the rear wall 16 of the body and have communication with the receiving chamber '13, but the outlet opening 17 communicates with the lowermost side of the chamber, and in this way carries oil? water of condensation with the leaving steam. a

In order .to cause steam contained within the chamber 13 to be discharged against and upon material to be heated and moistenedfor the pressing o eration, the body 10 is provided with a su stantially centrally disposed channel 23, of generally rectangular form in cross section, and which is closed at both ends of the body but is in communication with a plurality of ports 24 through the bottom of the iron. These ports 24 are of relatively small size in order to partially restrict the flow of steam and prevent its release too suddenly from the chamber 13.

As a means for establishing communication between the chamber 13 and the channel 23, the body 10 is laterally cut away at one side of the channel 23, to form a pas sage 25 converging toward a vertically disposed threaded opening 26, which receives the lower end of a cylindrical valve casing 27, which has a flanged part 28 arranged to I seat upon a boss 30, formed integral with the body 10. This boss 30 is so positioned that when the casing 27 is screwed into place the lower end thereof will be properly spaced from the floor of the passage 25. Such spacing is provided so that an axially disposed port 31 is also in free communication with the passage 25, while its upper end opens into two Horizontally disposed ports 32, so spaced from the bottom of the casing 'as to bring them into free communication with the receiving chamber 13. The communication between the ports 32 and the port 31 is controlled by a needle valve 34, which extends axially of the casing 27 and engages a valve seat 35 coaxially arranged with respect to the port 31. This needle valve 34 has its stem passing through a stufling box structure 36, and projects from the end of the casing 27 and through a transverse plate 37, mounted on suitable posts 38 secured to and forming a part of the top 11.

As a means for normally holding the valve seated to close the port 31, the upper end 40 of the valve 34 is suitably threaded to receive a nut 41, between, which and the plate 37 there is a coil spring 42 under such compression as to hold the valve to its seat. The tension of this spring is overcome and the valve opened as required by means of a rock lever 43, which is suitably pivoted at 44 in cars 45 of the posts 38. One end of the lever 43 has a bifurcated arm 46 arranged to straddle the stem of the needle valve 34, and is held in adjusted position by a nut 47 also upon the stem end 40 and working in conjunction with the nut 41. As a further means for returning the valve to its closed position, the lever 43 has a rearwardly disposed lug 48, which is shaped to seat over the upper end of a coil spring 50, the other end of which seats in the top 11. In order that the valve may be conveniently opened or closed while the iron is in use, the lever 43 has its long arm terminating in relatively close proximity to one side of the front end portion of the handle 12. The relation between the handle and the end of the lever 43 is such that when the handle is in the hand of the user the thumb on that hand of the user will conveniently rest against the end of the lever, so that it can be easily manipulated in the manner required.

Before describing the operation of the iron, attention is here directed to the location and arrangement ofthe ports 32, be-. cause it is desirable that the respective crosssectional areas of each of these ports should be relatively small, so that when the valve 34 is opened there will not be a rush of a large volume of steam, but, on thecontrary,

a continuous, steady supply of steam at substantially uniform pressure.

In the operation of the iron, steam is ad-.

- mitted to the receiving chamber 13, by way of the opening 14, from a suitable source of steam supply, and is free to circulate lengthwise of the chamber 13 and return to be discharged by way of the outlet 17, and so long as the valve 34 is closed no steam can escape to enter the channel 23. As soon, however, as the goods to be pressed are in position and the iron placed thereon, the lever 43 is pressed in a direction to cause the valve 34 to be lifted, and thereby open the port 31. Steam now has free access by way of the ports 32, and 31 and the channel 23, where it distributesfrom one end thereof to the other, and finds escape by way of the bottom openings 24. In this way, the required amount of heat for a pressing-operation is obtained, and suflicient moisture is supplied to complete the pressing asis necessary.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that a complete unitary pressing iron has been devised, wherein there are no oil, gas or other burners, and whatever heat is supplied for the pressing operation is that contained inthe live steam which is discharged from an opening or openings in the bottom of the iron and in direct contact with the goods to be pressed. Furthermore, the arrangement of the receiving chamber is such as to cause water of condensation as well as saturated steam to be thrown to the side of the chamber and away from the ports 32 to thus prevent excess of moisture being carried out to the pressing surface, and also to eliminate corrosion by the collection of water about the valve ports.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A pressing iron, comprising in combination an iron body having a steam chamber Ion itudinally disposed therein and having its ttom wall inclined toward one side of the iron, a steam inlet communicating with the high side of said chamber and a steam outlet communicating with the low side of said chamber, said body also having a distributing channel longitudinally disposed .below said steam chamber, means for establishing communication between said steam chamber and said distributing channel, a valve arranged to control said communicating means, and a device exterior of said iron body arranged to actuate said valve.

2. A pressing iron, comprising in com bina-tion an iron body having a steam chamber longitudinally disposed therein and having its bottom wall inclined toward one side of the iron, a steam inlet communicating With the high side of said chamber and a steam outlet communicating with the low side of said chamber, said body also having a distributing channel longitudinally disposed below said steam chamber and communicating with a laterally disposed passage, a valve casing extending into said iron body and having an axially disposed port arranged to communicate with said passage and two transversely disposed ports of rela-, tively small diameter opening into said steam chamber, a valve normally cutting off communication between said its and said outlet port, and means exterior of said iron for operating said valve.

Signed at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, this 27th day of July, 1923. I

- HARRY A. KOENIG. 

